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Thursday, 26 September 2013

Not a lot ...

Posted by Pam ~ aka
PeeJay

... going on at the moment so not much to blog about with up-to-date stuff. Normal everyday business. Grocery shopping (hate it!), chiropodist and general bits and pieces. Archery stuff on eBay has a lot of interest ... thankfully ... so I'll be packing and posting soon. Hope it all goes but over half already has bids and there's still over 4 days to go. Strangest thing is that I listed my quiver and it's got 3 bids with numerous watching. It is a quality quiver but ... it's personalised! I had it made to my design way back. The 'decoration' is as asked for, including my name. Yep, it has PAM scribed on it in quite large letters. Now it could be a name but I guess it could equally be initials. Whatever, it was one of the first things I got a bid on. On started it at 99p because I didn't think it was worth anything to anyone other than somebody called Pam so a very limited market. It's currently at £7.50 and I've been asked how much to take it off auction and do a Buy it Now. I won't do that because it has bids but more because there are so many watchers. I'll let it find it's own price and be happy with that as it nearly got dumped :)

Think I'll continue the bathroom story ... as much as I can.

Bathroom was finished and we were using it well, despite not being happy with the finish (photos could show but we'll leave that bit now) In February I thought it about time I got on with sorting the study out. Other things had come along and put a stop to it over a few months. Was progressing well when I took something off of a book shelf and found this ....

Blue 'dust'

Pulled the shelf out and moved stuff on the shelf below and saw this ...

More ... and down to the ground

I emptied the book case completely and started cleaning the mould away. From the top it wiped off the wall quite well, then wallpaper started coming away with it and I realised the wall was wet. On checking I found the edge of the carpet was wet and the bottom of the bookcase a CD tower next to it was also damp. Wondering where this had all come from I suddenly realised that the other side of the wall was the wet room basin! LEAK! Went into the wet room and a quick check proved there was a leak but ... we couldn't turn the water off other than at the mains as I couldn't locate the isolator valves. More to the point - I couldn't get to the pipework at all other than the top few inches. The pipework had been boxed in with no access made to them. Called plumber and asked him to come as an emergency.

Back to study and further investigation showed that the mould was behind a double wardrobe as well - and had transferred some to the back of the wardrobe. The mould extended over a metre long and a metre high. For the amount of mould we'd obvioulsy had the leak since the new basin and tap had been installed back in September/October.

Behind the wardrobe

Pulling the wardrobe away dragged some of the back off :(

The mould extended to where the dark spot is above the yard stick.
From there to where the paper is stripped it 'dusted' off.

Plumber arrived and, long story short ... this is how he left us.

Note how wet the boarding is under the basin ... and along the bottom!

This was after he'd had the basin off the wall. It transpired that the isolator valves for the basin were behind the boxing in but in the bottom left corner and totally inaccessible. This part of the room had to deconstructed to get to the pipework and with a view to putting in an access panel and new isolator valves. It was then left open to help dry the wall. This was February. In May, after nearly 3 months and several attempts to cure the leak, unsuccessfully, we sacked the guy and contacted somebody else. They found other problems that needed to be dealt with and problems that the guy, as a supposed heating engineer, should not have left us with.

The wet room, and the other problems, were finally sorted out and finished at the end of August ... nearly a year after the room was started. We're finally leak free and have an access panel so our wet room now looks like this ...

Not a huge change but at least we're now dry and have access if ever needed again and .... the study wall is finally dry and has been cleaned up. The paper is lifting and the room needs decorating but it's all clean and hidden and the rest can follow in time. The saga is not yet finished though. The original guy guaranteed his work. He has had a bill sent and we're prepared to take it to law ....

FREEBIES

If anyone uses the freebies offered on the blog I'd be really interested in seeing how you use them. Just leave a comment linking to your picture or email me a piccie (through link on the 'About Me' tab). I'd be really grateful and ... with your permission ... I will add them to the slideshow below :0))

Featured Work

I used some Wordart from Create with TLC in my 2010 Year Book. I told Paulette and she featured it on her blog :0) I've also used one of her greetings on a Christmas card. Click on the pic to go see her work.